Review: Justice League Vol. 7- Darkseid War Part 1
Quick Summary
Pros: The main storyline feels incredibly epic and has plenty of action to go along with it. Multiple subplots add to the main storyline and increase its importance. The Justice League is depicted very well. Everything in this book looks beautiful and makes the entire story better.
Cons: Nothing significant.
Overall: This isn’t just a good Justice League story, it is the start of a massively compelling storyline that has the potential to change the entire DC Universe. Here the villains are brutal, the fights are epic, and the Justice League is at its best. The introduction to this collection alone proves to be more interesting than some other entire story arcs. DC Comics has a real winner in this saga, one than any fan of comic books should check out.
Story
In Justice League Vol. 7: Darkseid War Part 1, Geoff Johns starts a storyline that is already turning out to be the best of the entire Justice League series, and has the potential to become even better. This singular storyline sees readers treated to all the high stakes action and drama typically reserved for a huge comic event. In addition, multiple compelling subplots enhance the overall narrative and make the entire environment surrounding this saga feel absolutely epic. The Justice League series has been on a steady upswing since Forever Evil (Review) and is finally hitting its highest notes right here.
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The first quarter of the book serves mostly as an introduction to everything relevant to this saga. Wonder Woman’s origin is expanded upon to introduce a new Amazon, various New Gods are given quick introductions, the history of DC Universe Crises are explained, and the basis for the current storyline is hinted at. While this is an information and exposition heavy way to start a book, it never feels boring. Johns does a fantastic job in making the reader understand the importance of every detail they are currently learning, thus turning a typically boring introduction into a enrapturing tale of past and present.
Once this groundwork is laid, the actual meat of the story begins. A being of Amazonian origin appears and immediately begins to decimate the entire Justice League in a truly sadistic fashion. She came to this Earth intent on luring the Anti-Monitor and Darkseid into battle so that Darkseid will be killed. Her effortless breakdown of the League establishes her as a significant threat, and leaves readers even more frightened for the battle that is to come. It also provides a good bit of action for this portion of the book and adds physical violence to the already tense situation.
After dispatching the League, Darkseid and the Anti-Monitor are summoned. The battle between the two is simply epic in both form and description. Both sides command fierce armies that do not hold back when it comes to the utilization of graphic violence. Readers are forced to witness the showdown but are unsure of who to root for, as neither victor would be desirable. This evokes feelings of anticipation and anxiety into the read, making an already intense fight feel even more so. The fight concludes with Darkseid dead and the Anti-Monitor triumphant, though the ramifications of this conclusion are left for the following volume.
Alongside all of this, several smaller storylines are also taking place. The first involves Superman and Lex Luthor’s unintended trip to Apokolips. While there, Darkseid sends his slaves to fight Superman. Sending innocent people to kill the man who represents hope fits Darkseid’s character perfectly and serves as small reminder of how twisted he is. Superman and Luthor manage to stay alive, but Superman is corrupted by the pits of Apokolips and is now trying to kill Luthor. Though this storyline is rather short, it provides a nice look into the current dynamic between the two former enemies and sets up an interesting storyline for the future.
The other smaller storyline involves the origin of the Anti-Monitor and his connection to the Anti-Life-Equation. Explored through narration from Metron and then through Batman and Green Lantern’s adventure, this previously unknown origin ends up being very interesting. Sticklers for rigged continuity may not appreciate the attempt to tamper with the Anti-Monitor’s past, but everyone else will be able to find this hidden history as a unique addition to this saga’s legacy. I’m interested in seeing where Johns heads with this and what ramifications it will have in the next volume.
As a final note, I continue to be impressed by how well Johns is able to capture each member of the Justice League in small moments throughout the book. Things like Shazam being horrified at seeing a dead body or Luthor making offhand comments about Superman not being human make these characters feel real and thus make the book better. This is something I praised in our review of Injustice League (Review) so I’m glad to see it continue here.
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Art
Above we discussed how the story in this volume is probably the best of the series so far, here we will suggest that the artwork is of a similar merit. Art by Jason Fabok and colors by Brad Anderson prove to be a powerful combination and create a stunning landscape for the Darkseid War to be fought on. Characters and environments are precisely detailed in a way that makes them seem almost lifelike at times.
However, the place the art truly shines is in the battles. Seeing the Justice League take on a powerful enemy is great but seeing an entire war unfold is even better. Heroes and villains clash all over pages, yet never feel cluttered or chaotic. Instead, the end result is something that perfectly compliments the high stakes nature of the overall story and significantly enhances my enjoyment in reading this book.
Continuity
Justice League Vol. 7: Darkseid War Part 1 continues the story from Justice League Vol. 6: Injustice League (Review).
The story here continues in Justice League Vol. 8: Darkseid War Part 2 (Review).
This volume also references stories from other comic books, all of which are detailed below.
- This entire saga seems to, for the most part, use the New God’s original history from Jack Kirby. These histories can be found in books like Mister Miracle by Jack Kirby and New Gods by Jack Kirby, or can be read together in the Fourth World by Jack Kirby Omnibus.
- The book starts by bringing up Wonder Woman’s most recent origin. This origin comes from Wonder Woman Vol. 1: Blood (Review).
- A number of references are made to the various events which have altered or restarted the DC Universe. This includes:
- A brief reference is also made to Brainiac’s involvement with the Convergence event.
- Green Lantern mentions his past dealings with the New Gods. This happened in Green Lantern/New Gods: Godhead.
- Batman mentions having more experience with Darkseid and Apokolips than the rest of the Justice League. This could be a reference to his time there in Batman and Robin Vol. 7: Robin Rises.